Jaiswal had played only 15 first-class games in his career before making his Test debut, with averages over 80 in those games with nine hundreds
Our Bureau
Roseau (Dominica)
India youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal made a spectacular hundred in Dominica on day two of the first Test match against West Indies, and he joined an elite list by becoming the 17th player from India to score three figures on his Test debut.
Jaiswal resumed his innings on Day 2 with a score of 40*. He was careful, yet positive in his approach during his stay at the crease. The 21-year-old shifted gears after the lunch break on day two and completed a well-made hundred.
The left-handed opener became the 17th Indian Test debutant to make a hundred. The last Indian batter to do so was Shreyas Iyer in 2021 against New Zealand in Kanpur. Another remarkable thing in his Test debut ton was that his partner at the other end, Rohit Sharma, had also made a Test hundred on his debut, against West Indies, in 2013.
Jaiswal is only the seventh Indian batter and the first in 13 years to score a Test century on debut away from home. Earlier Suresh Raina made 120 against Sri Lanka in 2010 and he was the last Indian batter to score a Test ton on debut outside India.
The left-handed batter is also only the third Indian opener to make a Test hundred on debut after Shikhar Dhawan (187 v Australia, 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (134 v West Indies, 2018). The opener’s impressive performance was foreshadowed as he had received big praise in the build-up to the Test from vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Jaiswal had played only 15 first-class games in his career before making his Test debut. With averages over 80 in those games with nine hundreds, including a stunning 265 in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy Final last year brought him in contention for this Test.
The opener completed his hundred on in the 70th over, and by the time he reached three-digit figure, his opening stand with Rohit had crossed 200 run-mark.
Jaiswal, has affirmed that his debut Test ton against West Indies is just the beginning and that he is looking forward to contributing more in the future.
“I’ve just gone out to express myself, thankful for everyone, this is just a start and I want to do well going further,” Jaiswal said after the match.
He further went on to say that the moment he reached the three-digit mark was emotional for him considering how hard it is for players to get opportunities in the team.
“I think this is one of the emotional knock for me, was just proud of myself, it’s difficult to get opportunities in the Indian team, I would like to thank everyone, the supporters, team management and Rohit Bhai,” Jaiswal added.
Finally, he went to highlight how challenging it was to score runs on a ground where the outfield is slow and the pitch is a slow track which makes it difficult for the batters to score runs.
“The pitch is on the slower side and the outfield is very slow, it was difficult and challenging, it was pretty hot and I wanted to keep doing it for my country, just play ball-by-ball and enjoy my cricket. I love Test cricket, I like this challenge, I enjoy the situation when the ball swings and seams. We have worked hard on everything,” Jaiswal signed off.
Earlier, India managed to restrict West Indies for a score of 150 runs on Day 1 of the first Test at Windsor Park. In reply to the WI’s total, Rohit and Jaiswal went on to score a century each which allowed India to take a commanding position in the two-match Test series. The 229-run opening stand between Rohit and Jaiswal is also the second-highest for India in Tests in West Indies. The record is held by Vijay Manjrekar and Pankaj Roy, who put on 237 for the second wicket at Sabina Park in 1953.
Their partnership was also the highest opening partnership for India vs West Indies. Earlier, Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer held the record with a partnership of 159 runs in 2006.
